Commemorating the Eradication of Smallpox : WHO Campus : Geneva, CH
On Monday, the World Health Organization convened its 63rd annual World Health Assembly at the Palais des Nations in Geneva. At the end of the yesterday's proceedings, the Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan, returned to the WHO campus to dedicate a statue commemorating the eradication of smallpox. The statue depicts a family--father, mother, and child--standing in line to be vaccinated by a healthcare worker.
In her remarks at the dedication, Dr. Chan said, "An achievement of this scale ultimately depended on tens of thousands of dedicated workers who literally crisscrossed this entire earth, by jeep, donkey, and fishing boats, on foot in jungle and desert journeys, from nomadic tribes in remote mountain areas to pavement dwellers in the scorching heat of Asia's slums. The history of smallpox and its eradication has been written, and public health continues to benefit from the many lessons learned."
You can read Dr. Chan's opening remarks to the Assembly here.
Photo copyright: Janet M Kincaid, 5/10
1 comment:
Is that the statue that went up on the empty base that we were looking at before I left?
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